


after the storm (your body feels so warm)

by cathect



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series), Buzzfeed: Worth It (Web Series)
Genre: Astraphobia, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort-ish, I Will Help Anna Build This Ship From The Ground Up, M/M, They're in Love You Cowards
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-06-27 13:18:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15686196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cathect/pseuds/cathect
Summary: -Shane’s arms tighten minutely around him. “It’s not stupid,” he says, sounding almost protective. “It’s okay to be scared.”Steven has to fight down the natural urge to deny being afraid. “Yeah, I know,” he concedes. “It’s just. Storms are kind of a lame thing to be scared of, you know?”“Fear isn’t always rational,” Shane says simply. “Just look at Ryan.”-or, the one where steven is afraid of thunderstorms.





	after the storm (your body feels so warm)

**Author's Note:**

> apparently, when it comes to ships, i have a type. and that type is crossover rarepairs. so here's some shaven content to feed your soul, and hopefully to inspire more people to write them.
> 
> thank you, as always, to erin for beta'ing!

The first clap of thunder is enough to wake Steven up.

He’s a relatively light sleeper as is, and the storm is intense enough that the rain pounds against the roof, so really, he never stood a chance. He opens his eyes reluctantly just as another bout of thunder rumbles outside. A flash of lightning illuminates the room and, even though Steven _hates_ lightning, the sight of Shane sleeping next to him is comforting. Steven snuggles closer to him, and tries to let his warmth and steady breathing lull him back to sleep.  
  
The second thunderclap is enough to shake the whole apartment. The windows shudder in their frames and Steven squeezes his eyes closed as he tries to calm his pounding heart. It careens against his ribs and his stomach turns over. Shane continues to snore away next to him, blissfully unaware. Steven wishes he could sleep through something like this.

Instead, he carefully slips out of Shane’s hold. It’s not too difficult; Shane barely even stirs as Steven lifts his arm and rolls out from under it. He looks back just as Shane is turning onto his stomach and burying his face into his pillow. He smiles against it and sighs, and Steven’s heart flips in his chest as he tiptoes through the doorway.

He’s only been to Shane’s apartment a couple of times since they started dating, but it’s cozy and comfortable and he knows his way around for the most part. The sky rumbles and flickers outside and Steven tries not to jump with each boom as he goes into the kitchen, using the nightlights plugged in near the floor to light his way.

He bites his lip gently and turns in circles, trying to remember which cabinet Shane keeps his mugs in. When he can’t figure it out, he starts searching. He stands on his toes and opens door after door until he finds what he’s looking for and pulls down the first mug he sees. It’s white, and says “ _I’m a ray of fucking sunshine!”_ on it. Steven snorts to himself as he turns on the Keurig and lets it warm up.

By the time it starts pouring hot chocolate into his mug, the rain outside is banging against the windows loud enough to sound like gunshots in his ears. Steven has his arms crossed tightly over his stomach, and he only relaxes them when his drink is done, reaching out for it and curling his freezing fingers around it.

“Hey.”

Steven nearly drops the mug on the floor when Shane’s hands appear at his hips. “Jesus,” he whispers, sliding the drink away on the counter so that his clumsy hands won’t do any damage.

Shane snickers softly in his ear and his arms push forward to wrap around Steven completely. “Sorry,” he mutters sleepily. “Didn’t mean to scare you.” Steven leans to the side and tilts his head back. He can’t see Shane’s face completely from this angle, but he can see the small smirk playing on his lips.

“It’s okay.” Steven nuzzles his face against Shane’s neck for a moment. “I thought you were asleep.”

Shane shrugs. “Storm woke me up and you were gone.” His voice is sleep-rough and it reverberates through Steven, down to his toes. “I got worried. Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Steven says quietly. He twists in Shane’s hold until he’s facing him, and winds his arms around his neck. “Everything’s fine, I just.” He swallows thickly. “I don’t really like storms.”

Shane blinks down at him a few times from behind his glasses, like his brain is slowly piecing the words together. “Why didn’t you wake me up?” The question isn’t harsh or accusatory, just genuinely curious.

“I dunno,” Steven says. He flushes a little under Shane’s gaze and glances away. “It’s just, like, a dumb thing. I didn’t want to wake you up for something stupid.” Almost as soon as he finishes his sentence, thunder booms right overhead and Steven jumps a little.

Shane’s arms tighten minutely around him. “It’s not stupid,” he says, sounding almost protective. “It’s okay to be scared.”

Steven has to fight down the natural urge to deny being afraid. “Yeah, I know,” he concedes. “It’s just. Storms are kind of a lame thing to be scared of, you know?”

“Fear isn’t always rational,” Shane says simply. “Just look at Ryan.” Steven laughs in spite of himself and Shane smiles as he presses a kiss to his forehead. “But seriously, you don’t have to have a good reason to be afraid of something. If you’re scared, you’re scared.”

Despite the casual and, frankly, analytical tone of his voice, Shane’s words are comforting. They settle over Steven like a warm blanket, and he tucks his face into Shane’s neck again.

“Thanks,” he says softly. “For not making fun of me.”

Shane lays his cheek against the top of Steven’s head. “Yeah, of course.”

They stand like that for a while, just wrapped up in each other. Shane doesn’t say anything about the way that Steven’s body jolts with each crack of thunder, and Steven is grateful for his silence. Despite Shane’s reassurance, he’s still embarrassed by the way he’s shaking like a leaf in his arms. He’s a grown man, he should be able to keep it together, but the storm is raging outside and it’s got him on edge.

“Your hot chocolate is gonna get cold,” Shane murmurs into his hair. Steven hums in agreement but makes no move to let go of Shane. “Cold chocolate.”

Steven snorts. “What?”

“I don’t know,” Shane says around a yawn. “M’too tired to come up with an actual joke, so that’s all you get.”

“Oh.” Steven feels guilt start to pile up in his stomach. “You can go back to bed, if you want.”

Shane immediately pulls back enough to look down at him. “Hey, no,” he says. “That’s not what I meant.” He leans down to brush a kiss over Steven’s lips.

After a beat of silence, he says, “Spiders.”

“What?” Steven’s fingers absentmindedly card through the soft hair at the back of Shane’s head. Shane shivers at the feeling, and clears his throat.

“Spiders,” he says again. “I hate them. They freak me out.”

Steven can’t help the giggle that escapes his throat. “Really?”

“Really.” Shane’s cheeks are a little pink, and he’s smiling— a nervous smile, but a smile nonetheless. “Sorry, but you’ll have to do all the spider killing in this relationship.”

Steven’s giggling explodes into a full-on laugh. “I think I can handle that.” He presses a kiss to the side of Shane’s mouth. “As long as you put up with my thunder-phobia, I promise to squish all the spiders.”

“Something tells me that’s not what it’s called,” Shane says with a chuckle. “But, yeah. That sounds good.”

He brings their foreheads together and Steven lets his eyes slip shut. The storm has started to move on and the sound of the rain is almost relaxing now; it combines with the comforting warmth of Shane against him and the sweet smell of his untouched hot chocolate, and the tension slowly bleeds out of his shoulders. One of Shane’s hands rubs soothing circles into Steven’s back, and Steven yawns.

“Ready for bed?” Shane asks, amused and overly-fond.

Steven listens and, when the next rumble of thunder doesn’t shake him to his core, he nods. “Bed sounds good.”

“Good.” Shane lets him go and reaches for his hand. Steven meets him halfway and tangles their fingers together, letting Shane tug him back in the direction of his room.

The bed is still relatively warm when they climb back in, a little clumsy in the dark, and Steven’s forever-cold body is thankful for it. Shane drops his glasses onto the nightstand with a clatter before he wraps around Steven like an octopus. He lays a kiss on the skin of Steven’s neck and lets out a content sigh. Steven hums happily and shuts his eyes.

He’s already half asleep when he speaks again. “Hey Shane?”

“Mm?”

“Sorry for wasting your hot chocolate.”

Shane huffs out a laugh against his ear. “That’s okay,” he says. “You can kill the spider living in my mailbox and we’ll call it even. Deal?” He tugs Steven impossibly closer and tangles their legs together. Steven doesn’t even try to fight his smile.

“Deal.”

**Author's Note:**

> leave me a comment letting me know what you think! i'd really like to write more for these boys, because this ship deserves all the love in the world.
> 
> come visit me on tumblr @devilstrip!


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